In the treatment of diseases, injuries or malformations affecting spinal motion segments, and especially those affecting disc tissue, it has long been known to remove some or all of a degenerated, ruptured or otherwise failing disc. In cases involving intervertebral disc tissue that has been removed or is otherwise absent from a spinal motion segment, corrective measures are taken to ensure the proper spacing of the vertebrae formerly separated by the removed disc tissue.
Such corrective measures may include insertion of a disc prosthesis into the disc space. Surgical techniques for inserting intervertebral disc prostheses into the spinal column are high risk procedures given the proximity of the spinal cord to the surgical area. Accordingly, devices and methods for simplifying such procedures are desirable.